Month: September 2016

On September 15, 2016, Mission Housing invited the Mission community to celebrate the renovation of Betel Apartments, on its 40th anniversary. Photos by Tony Bear!

The Mission community celebrates Betel Apartments — renovated, modernized and preserved for another generation of affordable family housing

Betel Apartments is an award winning community revitalization effort built by Mission Housing Development Corporation in 1976, our first new construction ever. You can read more about Betel Apartments HERE.

Betel Apartments, completed in 1976, was one of the first two new construction buildings by Mission Housing.

On September 15, 2016, Mission Housing staff invited Betel residents, dignitaries and other members of the Mission community to celebrate the completion of a year-long a renovation of the property, just in time to observe Betel’s 40th anniversary.

The re-dedication of Betel Apartments included food, refreshments, and entertainment. Also on hand were some of the people who and companies that worked on the remodel. On the upper deck of the development, Mission Housing Executive Director Sam Moss, and Board Chairman Pete Gallegos made comments, then the attendees went downstairs for the cutting of a ribbon strung across the entrance of an empty apartment. Guests were allowed to tour the unit to observe the meticulous renovations

“The renovation could have allowed us to convert the development to market-rate units,” said Moss. “Instead, we’ve preserved the affordable housing at Betel for at least another 55 years.”

On September 15, 2016, Mission Housing invited the Mission community to celebrate the renovation of Betel Apartments, on its 40th anniversary. Photos by Tony Bear!

Karla Perez (left) joins the Mission Housing Resident Services team as a Coordinator; Chirag Bhakta as the new Community Engagement Coordinator. The two were added to the staff on September 12, 2016. Photo by Tony Bear!

Community Engagement, Resident Services new hires will help stabilize and empower tenants

Monday, September 12, two new staff members were added to the employee roster of Mission Housing Development Corporation.

Chirag Bhakta is the new Community Engagement Coordinator for Mission Housing. In this role he will organize Mission Housing tenants around the most pressing issues in the Mission District. A San Francisco native, he was previously the Outreach and Campaign Engagement Coordinator for the Mission SRO Collaborative, a program of Dolores Street Community Services.

“I came to work for Mission Housing because of the opportunities it would open up for both myself, for the organization, and for the Mission District,” he said. “I look forward to building up an anti-gentrification, pro-justice grass-roots collaboration between the various communities which make up the neighborhood.”

Karla Perez joined the Mission Housing Resident Services team as a Coordinator, helping residents access community resources and enrichment services, both on- and off-site. Perez will focus on serving residents of four Mission Housing apartment buildings: Plaza del Sol, Maria Alicia, Juan Pifarré Plaza and Dunleavy.

“These new hires will help us focus on important areas that directly impact our residents, and increase our ability to deliver services,” said Marcía Contreras, Director of Operations and Resident Services at Mission Housing. “We look forward to Chiraq and Karla making outstanding contributions to our mission.”

In this concept drawing, David Baker Architects demonstrates the north view of 1950 Mission St. as developed with input from the community. Other drawings are shown in the gallery below.

September 7, co-developers Mission Housing Development Corporation and BRIDGE Housing submitted a conditional use authorization application for 1950 Mission Street to the San Francisco Planning Commission. The application, which requires no zoning changes, includes design concepts that continue to be fine-tuned through an extensive community engagement process.

1950 Mission will feature 157 affordable apartments, 20% of which will be set aside for formerly homeless families, while the balance of units will serve families earning between 45% and 60% of area median income.

By the people, for the people

“Community-based planning and design are guiding principles of this collaborative effort. This is a uniquely conceived project in that it addresses displacement of Mission District families, neighborhood artists and people who are experiencing homelessness,” said Sam Moss, Executive Director of Mission Housing.

PODER is leading the outreach and engagement process. Numerous meetings have already been held, with a Community Workshop and convening of a 1950 Mission Community Advisory Committee. Artist advisors and stakeholder groups including Mission District families, nonprofits, service providers, union members, artists and business owners have been involved in the development.

The 1950 Mission team recognizes the sacrifices community members have made to make this development possible, and plans to include the Mission community throughout the entire process. Additional meetings will be held to provide overall input into the design of the building as the development moves forward.

Amenities, supportive services add to quality-of-life for residents

Among the amenities planned at 1950 Mission are a courtyard, community room and kitchen, rooftop garden, a media lab, affordable studios for artists and an active mural walkway that will honor the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the neighborhood. Mission Housing will lead the delivery of supportive resident services by coordinating with onsite partners PODER, Lutheran Social Services,Mission Neighborhood Centers’ Head Start, Early-Head Start, and Mission Girls mentorship programs. 1950 Mission is being designed by David Baker Architects.

David Baker Architects has developed drawings demonstrating the initial concepts in the design of 1950 Mission St.

District 5 Supervisor London Breed (left) receives a letter of support from Joshua Arce, secretary of the Mission Housing Board of Directors. Looking on are Roberto Hernandez of Our Mission No Eviction (center) and Mission Housing executives Sam Moss and Marcía Contreras. Photo by Tony Bear!

London Breed, president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, heads to Washington, D.C. to push for neighborhood preference in housing decisions

August 31, Mission Housing Board Secretary Joshua Arce convened a press conference at 1950 Mission St. in support of District 5 Supervisor London Breed as she meets with federal housing department officials. The purpose of her trip: To push back against a ruling by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, which invalidates San Francisco efforts to favor local residents in affordable housing lotteries.

The Board of Supervisors approved “neighborhood preference” housing legislation last year. This would set aside 40 percent of the new affordable housing units for qualified applicants living in the district, or within a half-mile radius of where the development is located.

HUD vetoed the San Francisco plan, calling it a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act. HUD provides funds and tax incentives to help build affordable housing in San Francisco and around the country, and also offers federal rent subsidies to some tenants.

Hundreds of affordable housing units are coming online in the Mission District over the next few years. As a result of the HUD ruling, none of the new units will be guaranteed for people who already reside in the Mission.

Under the San Francisco plan, Mission District residents would be favored to reside in at least 64 of the 160 units of affordable housing in the 1950 Mission St. development on the drawing board at Mission Housing.